NSF Award
9627174
9627174 Hunter This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will result in the development of new types of infrared detectors utilizing very recent developments in microcantilever technology. Such devices can be mass produced using standard semiconductor manufacturing methods, and specially tailored to our particular application using micromachining techniques. During Phase I of this project, a working laboratory version of a temperature and IR sensor was constructed and tested using both optical and piezoresistive techniques to measure the cantilever bending due to thermal induced stress. The piezoresistive technique was shown to have an order of magnitude higher sensitivity for detecting optical radiation than the optical sensing technique, and the attendant alignment and electronic amplification requirements needed to optimize the output response from the sensor were considerably simpler than those for the optical detection technique. During Phase II of the project the performance of the infrared temperature sensor will be optimized using the piezoresistive technique and various engineering prototypes of this instrument will be built. Phase III will involve commercialization of this technology through fabrication and sales of various stand-alone instruments specifically designed for given IR sensing and temperature measurement applications. Commercial applications of infrared detectors based on microcantilevers are numerous since these detectors are extremely sensitive, easily miniaturized, and can be readily mass produced. Medical applications include non contact thermometry and whole body thermal imaging for cancer detection. High sensitivity temperature measurement and IR imaging capabilities are required in the aerospace industry, military, and for night vision and security applications. Temperature control in manufacturing and machines also are possible applications.
